Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 1
Opening Music: What a Friend We Have in Jesus Instrumental, Music: Joseph Medlicott Scriven, 1855, Arranger: Bruce Ley, 2020.
Welcome
Good Sunday Morning,
This last week was the second week in the season of Eastertide, and what a week it has been. As my neighbour describes it – a cataclysmic spring: two late blizzards out where we live, covering the newly emerging daffodils and the fading snow drops with icy pellets; the cov-id 19 virus continuing to baffle doctors and scientists alike; the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day, with its reminder of the ever pressing strain on our world ecosystem, and our desire to change the way we live, but our failure to be able to do so; and our hearts go out to our gentle province of Nova Scotia, with its beautiful ocean views and rich farmland and little fishing villages dotting the coastline – and now with 22 people killed in random fashion as though the great mystery that they were was nothing but a paperback novel to be thrown in the trash can – and the soul of the person who caused the uproar, so distraught as to have forgotten his own belovedness.
It always comes to this, the forgetting of our own value. It is why we squander our time, wasting it in pointless argument, slandering our neighbour, complaining about our parents, guarding our borders, inciting violence, initiating wars always instigated by greed – it is because we have forgotten who we are and then who others are…..
Imagine what we are, silken mechanisms animated by the soul’s ethereal wanderings, our bloodlines mix together as long back as there is time – we are unique in all the world, and precious too. Me and you, each of us, all of us. Try and absorb that for a moment. And hold everyone close to you in tenderest embrace, whether they are with you physically, or just in your mind’s eye. And hold too, all those Nova Scotians who were alive days ago, and now no longer draw breath, grant them grace and safe journey, both victims and perpetrator both, for violence tarnishes the soul of everything it touches, and only grace can rise above it and set those in its web, free.
I am Rev. Dr. Candice Bist and along with my husband, Bruce Ley, we serve the Shelburne Primrose Pastoral Charge in southern Ontario, and very happily so, though as we continue to self-isolate at the end of our dead-end road, it can often feel a bit surreal. But we are glad to gather with you this morning, to hold the great mysteries before us, and see what we might yet discover together.
Music: Morning Has Broken/This Day God Gives Me Instrumental, Music: Gaelic Melody, Arranger/Musician: Bruce Ley Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 2
Introduction to First Hymn
The human condition is a complicated business. And no less the divine. The united church of Canada writes in its ever-unfolding faith statements that God is Holy Mystery, beyond complete knowledge, above perfect description.
Yet, in love, the one eternal God seeks relationship.
So God creates the universe and with it the possibility of being and relating. God tends the universe, mending the broken and reconciling the estranged. God enlivens the universe, guiding all things toward harmony with their Source.
Our faith statement recognizes God in the traditional trinitarian form, but speaks of God as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer ,Mother, Friend, and Comforter Source of Life, Living Word, and Bond of Love, and in other ways that speak faithfully of the One on whom our hearts rely, the fully shared life at the heart of the universe….
I would say, the heartbeat of the universe….
And we are but witnesses to this holy mystery, which is wholly love. (Song of Faith, UCC)
That’s what we do on Sunday morning, or any other time you are listening to this podcast, we stand as witnesses, taking some quiet time, to lean into the mystery we do not claim to know, but that we acknowledge is fully alive and present in the world, and that we seek in nature, in the company of others, in all the possibilities that arise around us.
Our opening hymn is a familiar melody, the words newer ones - an adaptation from an ancient piece of writing from the Celtic Christian tradition known as Patrick’s Breastplate. Legend has it, the words were said by the Patron saint of Ireland as a poetic talisman, keeping him safe in the armour of his faith.
Music: Morning Has Broken/This Day God Gives Me, Music: Gaelic Melody, Arranger/Musician: Bruce Ley, Lyrics: James Quinn, 1969, altered slightly 2020, Candice Bist Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 3
This day God gives me Strength of high heaven, Sun and moon shining, Flame in my hearth, Flashing of lightning, Wind in its swiftness, Deeps of the ocean, Firmness of earth.
This day God sends me Strength to sustain me, Might to uphold me, Wisdom as guide. Your eyes are watchful, Your ears are listening, Your lips are speaking, Friend at my side.
God's way is my way, God's shield is around me, God's host defends me, Saving from ill. Rising I thank you, Mighty and Strong One, Creator and Lover, Giver of rest.
Call to Worship
I love Bruce’s little Irish Band. I thought they sounded a bit confused when I first heard them, but Bruce love’s them all so much, and they are so intent on their folk instruments, so earnest in their playing – well they all only exist in Bruce’s mind, of course, and in his fancy recording equipment, but it is amazing how the mind can conjure them all up in technicolour complete with an interesting wardrobe and a fanciful setting. I so want to invite them for dinner. Perhaps that is because we are five weeks into self- isolation and the prospect of inviting Irish musicians for dinner who will relish my cooking and laugh and drink a lot is very tantalizing. Ah, what would we do without our imaginations….
Now St. Patrick, he of the Breastplate prayer and lyric in our opening hymn, is a Patron Saint of Ireland. And so is Brigit of Kildare, a delightful character, who is part legend, part reincarnation Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 4 of the pre-Christian Irish goddess who shares her name. I love that besides being the Patron Saint of Ireland, Brigit is also the patron saint of poets, dairy maids, blacksmiths, healers, cattle, fugitives, Irish nuns, midwives and newborn babies.
Both these patron saints of Ireland are an integral part of what is broadly known as Celtic Christianity. Whenever we speak of environmental matters, whether in our creation season which comes in the fall, or at this time of year as we honour Earth Day and the various celebrations around it, Celtic Christianity provides a lens for us where we see the importance of a naturalist spirituality that honours the earth as a sacred gift. I don’t think it is possible to separate spiritual intentions from environmental concerns. And this would be reflected in all aboriginal thought, wherein the earth is seen as a living entity, and humans in partnership with the gifts that God has given. Our call to worship today is a poem in the form of an imaginary invitation to Patrick and Brigit, who were both pastorally entwined with the Irish land and all things of field and farm and divinity.
Musical Interlude
Patrick, Brigit, Come and see, I’ve made a garden near the Trees. My own guardians Tall and true, Standing round In grey green hue, Breathing God with every breath, Breathing God to offer rest.
Patrick, Brigit, Come and pick, Flowers bursting blue and pink. Bulbs are pushing Through the Earth, The green it heralds A rebirth. Goddess Spring in every breath, Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 5
Goddess sings to bring us rest.
Patrick, Brigit, Come and smell, My rose buds they begin to swell. ‘Evelyn’, ‘Gertrude'. ‘Mary Rose’, ‘Darcey Bussell, To tease your nose. The scent of Heaven with every breath, The scent of Heaven to offer rest.
Patrick, Brigit, Come and sit, At my table candlelight. Friends and family Sharing grace, Jesus too He has His place, Telling Stories with sweet breath, Listening Stories to give us rest.
Patrick, Brigit, Gather round Autumn’s gifts, Riches abound, Tomatoes, berries Take what you will, Bring your baskets, Take your fill, Heavenly Father grants us Breath, Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 6
Heavenly Mother grants us rest.
Patrick, Brigit, Come be still, For winter now exerts Her Will, Cloaks my dear garden In her snow, While all lies napping Deep below. It’s time to listen to our breath, Winter’s gift, the gift of rest.
Patrick, Brigit, Come and be, In my garden close to me. Christ he walks, Upon the land, In the garden, Takes my hand. We are all of us - one breath, Come to my garden, come to rest.
Opening Prayer
Gracious one, Spring is tardy in her arrival this year, winter winds and snow put on quite a show this week. But arrive she has, as you ordain, the beauty of a season we watch and wait for through the dark months.
We are all in a time of waiting, everywhere throughout the earth, we are waiting to see what will become of us all, how will this tiny little virus shape our history, shift our hearts, open us up to new thought, as even now it shapes our days activities and deems what we may do, and what we may not.
Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 7
We are grieved this week, in our own country, for our fellows down in Nova Scotia, for humanity itself that seems to struggle to come to rights with you, for the disruptions in routines that leave us despairing or simply confused.
But we know that just as spring comes, confusion may pass, despair may lift, and if we can keep company with you, there will be new understandings on the other side of this great wall of uncertainty. We wait, in patience and in faith, for what is yet to come. And ask for courage and strength to all those who are weary. Amen.
Musical Interlude
Spiritual Practice: Deep Ecology
The setting apart for a special day to consider environmental initiatives and concerns, began in 1970, in response to the Santa Barbara Oil spill, where 3 million gallons of oil flowed into the ocean from an exploding drill site killing vast numbers of fish, seals, seabird, dolphins and bringing to the world’s attention the precarious balance between human progress and our ecosystem’s destruction. And all these years later, we are still trying to grabble with the enormity of the problems we have created with our own cleverness.
Thomas Berry, the Passionist priest, geoligian, and all-round deep thinker, took upon himself the great work of helping the human race realign itself with priorities recognizing that natural resources have inherent rights of life. In his seminal book, The Dream of Earth, he perfectly articulated the deep spiritual connection between humanity and the natural world. He wrote:
“The natural world is subject as well as object. The natural world is the maternal source of our being as earthlings and life-giving nourishment of our physical, emotional, aesthetic, moral and religious existence. The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong. To be alienated from this community is to become destitute in all that makes us human. To damage this community is to diminish our own existence.”
To understand these matters, is to be involved in the spiritual practice of deep ecology. Deep ecology was first put forth by Norwegian philosopher and mountaineer Arne Naess. Karin Klouman tells me that she attended meetings with Naess as part of an early green movement in Norway before she came to live in Canada, and notes that Ness was a passionate man whom she liked very much. Naess would come to articulate – as others did after him – the importance of recognizing the value of all living beings and shaping environmental policies based on a love of nature and humanity working together
Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 8
At the heart of deep ecology, and all environmental initiatives is the thought that we have to first examine our own hearts to see what changes need to be made there. And then, and only then, can we proceed to action in the world. This is a mirror image of the great commission that Jesus gave his followers.
Music: Hell, There’s Trouble, Music: Bruce Ley. Lyrics: Candice Bist
Hell, there’s trouble, From here to Nappanee, Nothing but trouble, As far as the eye can see, There’s a world of trouble out there, And a world of trouble inside of me.
Careless with the water, Reckless with the land, Stepping over people, Pipelines in the sand.
Building up the arsenal, With trickery and greed, Piracy and plunder, Ignoring real need.
Rhetoric and error, Polemic double speak, Bullies run the numbers And leave behind the weak.
We’re still cutting down the trees, And shutting down the young, Keeping up the pretence, Falsehoods on our tongue.
Hell, there’s trouble, From here to Nappanee, Nothing but trouble, As far as the eye can see, There’s a world of trouble out there, And a world of trouble inside of me.
Putting up the fences, Between the different tribes, Racking up the debt, Taking in a bribe. Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 9
Spending all our time, Taking what’s not ours, Spoiling for a war, And fighting in the bars.
We’re stealing from the old, Pilfering from the lost, Dumping in the ocean, Never counting the cost.
We keep pumping out the oil, Tearing down the past, Raising up the ante Making what won’t last.
Hell, there’s trouble, From here to Nappanee, Nothing but trouble, As far as the eye can see, There’s a world of trouble out there, And a world of trouble inside of me. There’s a world of trouble out there, And a world of trouble inside of me.
Introduction to First Scripture
It is a common practice when we gather on Sunday mornings, to choose something for consideration from the Judeo-Christian Bible, and also to sing hymns. But hymns, are really just scriptures morphed into modern poetic form and set to music. I note that often the melodies of our standard hymns are classic Gaelic or Welsh or Irish tunes, or in the case of that classic hymn: How Great Thou Art, a Swedish country refrain. The lyrics, in many cases of our classic hymns come from the 19th and 20th century, a time when the Christian texts were diffused into the atmosphere and remerged in popular novels and songs, Dickens to Dylan…
So, here is our first scripture reading, in the form of a classic hymn….
Music: How Great Thou Art, Music: Swedish Melody, Lyrics: Carl Gustav Boberg ca 1885, English trans Stuart K. Hine, 1939. Arranger: Bruce Ley, 2020
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hand hath made, Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 10
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art!
Second Scripture: 2nd Chronicles 20
Our second scripture is from 2nd Chronicles, with selected verses from chapter 20. The main character in this brief vignette is Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, which was the southern part of the once united kingdom of Israel. Jehosephat had implemented vast reforms and educational initiatives in his early rule. And now he finds himself confronted with an international crisis that threatens to overwhelm his people – the invasion of Judah by a southeastern coalition of powers. But Jehoshaphat remembers what he was taught in Sunday School and he knows that when he is trouble, even though he is afraid, he can humble himself in prayer, and lead his people to safety.
The scripture begins, “After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; …..Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. … Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 11 able to withstand you…… For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Reflection
Some days it is a lot to take in. I can’t quite follow all the numbers and statistics and graphs concerning Cov-id 19. Bruce and I are in the age group where we are to stay out of sight, out of the traffic, being at home, and I know a lot of you too, may be in this age group, or your parents may be.
For how long, we ask? We cannot plan, or rebook, or reschedule. We are essentially in a holding pattern with our lives, knowing that in many cases if we are to contact the virus, we might not survive it. And all around us are others, with needs of various kinds. And though we do our best to care for those in our own circles – how many throughout the world are outside protective circles? More than are in, I fear.
And while we are confronted with the very real business of getting through the pandemic, the larger problem of our rapidly deteriorating ecosystem is no longer centre stage. But this does not mean it has disappeared, though as industry has ground to a halt and clear skies appear on the horizon it is impossible not to see the direct co relation the human machine of progress has on our ecosystem. Still, the problems to solve are complicated.
As the incident this last week in Nova Scotia showed, we are still inundated with violent eruptions that occur in seemingly unlikely places, though the outpouring of violence, like terror, has its own agenda, and is not biddable, nor bound by neighbourhoods, or national defense.
We, like the Israelites of long ago, are surrounded by enemies on all sides. At this moment, there is a disease we cannot conquer, despite our phalanx of scientists and doctors bent over their chemistry sets in laboratories throughout the world.
And for all that we know of biology and geology and psychology, the shifting of the human consciousness into the next evolutionary level which is the base requirement in solving the vast array of environmental challenges is a herculean task, and we appear to be fresh out of Greek Gods or any other mythical creatures able to force the world to their will.
The violence that was so much a daily part of Israel’s life, is still alive and well and living with us today, in different forms, but in strains no less virulent. And then, there are the daily internal battles that each and every person fights through – something always to remember and honour – for though those secret battles may not be visible to the outside world, they often require all our energies and strength. Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 12
What to do? What to do?
Jehoshaphat knew. That was what made him a great leader – he led Israel for 25 years and in the language of the scriptures, ‘he walked in the way of the Lord.’
What was his council to his frightened people, and what is our council today?
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the battle is not yours, but Gods.’
We don’t know what to do, but we keep our eyes on you.;
And in the scriptures, the Israelites decide to sing and read psalms of praise, to be reminded of their place in the order of things.
We are called to stand steady and be amazed at all that we do not know, all that we cannot control, all that may yet unfold.
Amazement is such a welcome place to rest. You can bake bread and be amazed to see how the yeast rises. You can watch someone you have known a very long-time sleep and wonder at their existence. You can watch the snowstorm and be amazed at its beauty, no matter the date on the calendar. You can read about people who have died who you never knew, and be amazed at your own connection to them, and the tears they draw from you that you did not know you possessed.
We are in a time of waiting. But there is waiting in terror and there is waiting in amazement.
Choose amazement. Choose to align yourself with divine though, which is your noblest self.
Choose to stand and be amazed.
Music: Stand and Be Amazed, Music: Candice Bist/Bruce Ley, Lyrics: Candice Bist
I will keep my eyes on you, When I don’t know what to do, I will stand and be amazed, I will stand and be amazed I will stand and be amazed I will keep my eyes on you.
I will not without you, I will not go alone, Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 13
No riches that this world can give, Will take me from my home. For this is where my heart is, In the palace of the king, Resting in his shadow, Under his gentle wing.
I will keep my eyes on you, When I don’t know what to do, I will stand and be amazed, I will stand and be amazed I will stand and be amazed I will keep my eyes on you.
You are the only constant, As the world turns round and round, All the answers that I need, Are nowhere to be found, I wait for instruction, And I wait for your command It does not matter where I go, If you will hold my hand.
I will keep my eyes on you, When I don’t know what to do, I will stand and be amazed, I will stand and be amazed I will stand and be amazed I will keep my eyes on you.
You are my strength, You are my fortress, You are my guiding light.
I run to you, With open arms, With you my heart takes flight.
I will keep my eyes on you, When I don’t know what to do, Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 14
I will stand and be amazed, I will stand and be amazed I will stand and be amazed I will keep my eyes on you. I will stand and be amazed I will keep my eyes on you.
Closing Remarks/Meditation
That was the lovely Bette-Anne Smith, with her beautiful voice, and we do wish we knew her where about these days, she is an old friend who recorded some original material for us many years ago. Lovely person, Bette-Anne, you can hear that in her singing…..
Do you remember this piece of writing Desiderata? I have come back to it over and over through the years, have given copies of it to my children, and it comes to mind this week to share with you, perhaps as something that is already familiar to you, or as a new source of inspiration. There is some loveliness in its metre and thought. It is our closing meditation and prayer……
The Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Be Amazed, Service for Sunday Podcast April 26, 2020 15
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Closing Commissioning and Benediction
Be blessed this day. Stay safe and well. If there is any good you can do, then do it, whatever it may be.
And may the love of God, which surpasses all understanding be with you,
May the grace and compassion that is the heart of Christ, be alive and well in your heart also,
And may the fellowship and the guidance of the great spirit that moves among us all be with you this day, and all days.
Opening Music: What a Friend We Have in Jesus Instrumental, Music: Joseph Medlicott Scriven, 1855, Arranger: Bruce Ley, 2020.